JACKSON, MISS. - Today has been pretty uneventful so far. The Saints held a walk-through, followed by a special teams practice that lasted less than 90 minutes on a refreshingly cool, overcast morning. This afternoon's practice, scheduled for 3:40 p.m., will be more action-packed.

Click here for some observations from this morning, and make sure to check out our live chat at 12:30 p.m.

- The most noteworthy exercise this morning was the kickoffs. Rookie Taylor Mehlhaff looked a lot more impressive than he did two days ago, consistently sending kicks deep into the end zone with a good deal of hangtime. Veteran kicker Martin Gramatica also put most of his kickoffs in the end zone, but his were more line drives. If Mehlhaff wants to earn a spot on the roster, he needs to outshine Gramatica in this area, especially. Mehlhaff's leg strength is his strong suit.

- Reggie Bush muffed another kick return during practice today - something he's struggled with a few times during camp. Saints Coach Sean Payton didn't seem too worried about it, though. It's not like this is new to Bush, who has been returning punts for most of his football-playing life. What matters most to Payton is that Bush can consistently do damage once the ball is in his hands. We should get our first glimpse of some full-speed punt returns during Saturday's scrimmage.

- Bush didn't seem to be bothered by the stiff neck that nagged him on Wednesday afternoon. Offensive tackle Jon Stinchcomb is also expected to be at full speed this afternoon after tweaking his shoulder yesterday. Payton had no new injuries to report.

- Defensive tackle Brian Young has been missing a good chunk of practice time during camp, but Payton said he's just one of those veteran players the Saints are being smart with. Young has an arthritic condition in his knee, which was cleaned out with an arthroscopic surgery in the spring. Payton said he's more concerned with keeping Young fresh for the regular season than in trying to whip him into shape during camp.

- Rookie defensive tackle Sedrick Ellis, meanwhile, needs to do some catching up in the conditioning department, so he'll get some extra cardio work between practices, probably riding the stationary bike along with the injury rehab guys like Deuce McAllister, Mike McKenzie and Jeremy Shockey. Veteran defensive tackle Hollis Thomas is usually in with that bunch, too, because conditioning is such a big issue with him.

- Payton offered some high praise for rookie offensive lineman Carl Nicks when he was asked about him this morning. He said the behemoth 6-foot-5, 343-pounder has really stood out as a "big, powerful" presence. "I'm anxious to see him in the games," Payton said of Nicks, a fifth-round pick who has shown his versatility at both guard and tackle during camp.

- Speaking of big, powerful guys, fullback Mike Karney is a bit slimmer this year. Payton said he dropped 10 pounds, from the low 260s to the low 250s. Last year, the punishing blocker decided to bulk up, but he and the team felt like he lost some agility and quickness as a result.

- There's not much that quarterback Drew Brees can do to improve himself, physically or mentally, at this point. But he said he's got some specific goals he's made a point to work on this offseason. He just didn't want to let the media in on them. ... Colleague Teddy Kider is working on a Brees feature for tomorrow's paper. Believe it or not, we don't give Brees nearly enough pub in the media - at least not at this time of year - because he's just too predictable and consistent. We're too busy focusing on all the guys with a few question marks surrounding them.

- A group of NFL officials arrived in Jackson last night to spend these next three days with the Saints - an annual training camp routine. The officials met with players in the film room to go over all the new rules and points of emphasis, and now they'll be on the field to answer questions and explain what they're looking for in certain situations. They'll be out there today, tomorrow and during Saturday's scrimmage.

- I'm clearly not in midseason form yet. A reader just pointed out to me that I forgot to mention DeMario Pressley in today's notebook when I said the Saints have only suffered three significant injuries in camp so far. Pressley's season-ending foot injury obviously belongs on that list.

- Check back after the P.M. practice, and make sure to check out our live chat here in a few minutes.